I thought Jones had a quality bounce back game. I think Goodson is our best cb, not a fan of the Besler Gonzalez pairing. Not a Beckerman fan but I thought he was pretty good tonight.

Mix has to be on that plane to Brazil at this point. Having him as a game changing sub off the bench would be a huge ace in the hole. I hope Johannsson goes too but he has barely played for the US. I assume the strikers are Altidore, Johnson, Johannsson.

Losing F. Johnson at the half was a blessing in disguise, all of the space that Mexico got was in his area. And Bedoya had to do far too much tracking back. Jones covered his bacon quite a bit, which is his job, but he can't carry him for an entire match. So while I understand Johnson belongs further up the pitch, if Cherundolo can't prove his health there's a bit of a hole there.

Once Parkhurst was inserted, Mexico was hardly a threat.

I've always liked Goodson and now he's a very calming influence. I like Besler too, though he had the bad showing against CR. But having two mobile, 6'5" centerbacks is a wonderful, wonderful thing.

Beckerman played well but again, very limited player. Far too often Goodson and Gonzalez were forced to pull the strings...He's on the plane to Brazil I think, but I doubt he plays.

Losing F. Johnson at the half was a blessing in disguise, all of the space that Mexico got was in his area. And Bedoya had to do far too much tracking back. Jones covered his bacon quite a bit, which is his job, but he can't carry him for an entire match. So while I understand Johnson belongs further up the pitch, if Cherundolo can't prove his health there's a bit of a hole there.

Once Parkhurst was inserted, Mexico was hardly a threat.

I've always liked Goodson and now he's a very calming influence. I like Besler too, though he had the bad showing against CR. But having two mobile, 6'5" centerbacks is a wonderful, wonderful thing.

Beckerman played well but again, very limited player. Far too often Goodson and Gonzalez were forced to pull the strings...He's on the plane to Brazil I think, but I doubt he plays.

Donovan is a legend.

I agree with pretty much all of this. F. Johnson was very shaky on the right, and Parkhurst, about whom I had doubts, really locked things down on that side. With qualification wrapped up, I would have to think Klinsmann takes a look at Chandler, Lichaj, or one of the rising MLS guys at right back.

I like Beckerman for what he does. He plays within himself and doesn't get sucked out of position very often. Jones really isn't a good partner for him, since neither are going to distribute well under pressure, but I can why Klinsmann opted for that pairing given his options and Mexico's greater need to push the attack.

I haven't always liked Goodson (he seemed prone to defensive lapses and a poor passer in the past), but he, like Parkhurst, just comes in and quietly gets the job done seemingly every time he's called on now...can't complain about that.

One of the few negatives for me was Dempsey's play (even excluding the PK). He just doesn't look sharp and goes down way too easy. I'd seriously consider benching him, putting Donovan underneath Altidore (where he was in the Gold Cup), and putting F. Johnson at left mid.

I'm not sure how you can defend Rodgers' decision of playing two cb's at fullback unless it was due to injury. Toure started on the right wing at Arsenal and made a handfull of appearances at rb but even so that was years ago. Mignolet may be the signing of the season so far though.

I'd like to take back my relegation pick of Stoke and make it Sunderland, they are absolutely atrocious. Under Di Canio, its much more likely to end in spectacular heartbreak than it is to get better.

jmh470 wrote:Looks like Jozy picked another Hull. He's a much better player now, but it's still going to be hugely frustrating for him if this continues.

As much as I dislike Donovan's career path, there's something to be said for dominating at a lower level.

Yeah, I tried to make myself buy into the storyline that Sunderland looked better under Di Canio down the stretch last year, they'd improve with a full offseason under him, they made some good buys in Altidore and Giaccherini, etc. But now, they're just a mess, and they're dropping points against teams likely to be their competition for relegation.